The need for a vaccine
Coeliac disease is a life-long condition which affects approximately 1% of people living in Europe, North and South America, North Africa, Middle East, and India. Five-times more Americans have coeliac disease than multiple sclerosis. The prevalence of coeliac disease is about the same as rheumatoid arthritis.
Current treatment and its limitations
Currently, a gluten-free diet is the only treatment for coeliac disease. Regular consumption of as little as 50mg gluten contained in 1/100th of a standard slice of wheat bread is sufficient to damage the intestine in coeliac disease (ref. 2).
Not surprisingly, inadvertent gluten exposure is common. When follow-up biopsies of the small intestine are performed 2-5yrs after adopting a gluten free diet, inflammation persists in up to 50% of adults and 25% of children with coeliac disease (ref. 1).
Even though patients may have improved symptoms on a “gluten reduced” diet, research indicates persistent inflammation of the small intestine is associated with greater risk of cancer and more severe bone demineralisation (osteoporosis) (ref. 3).
A further issue is that strict adherence to a gluten free diet does not protect patients from “acute” food poisoning following accidental exposure to gluten.
A gluten-free diet is not cheap – the cost is similar to ongoing medications for blood pressure combined with a drug for high cholesterol, around AUD$1000-1500 annually (G Price, Coeliac Society Australia, personal communication).